Article hero image

Congratulations, Millennials! You’re Doing Way Better Than People Think.

Wealthsimple makes powerful financial tools to help you grow and manage your money. Learn more

If you’re a millennial, you get a bad rap. People like to think you’re selfish. You’re debt-ridden. You’re an overconfident, social-media-addicted young person who will never leave home who lives only for self-affirmation. And of course you have committed the cardinal sin against earlier generations: You’re young!

TLDR Newsletter Logo

Sign up for our weekly non-boring newsletter about money, markets, and more.

By providing your email, you are consenting to receive communications from Wealthsimple Media Inc. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info, or contact us at privacy@wealthsimple.com or 80 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

But the truth is a little different. And pretty darn encouraging. How do we know? We looked at the data. Here’s what we learned when our number crunchers checked out the details on Canadians under the age of 35.

Millennials Are Better Educated and More Responsible Than Their Parents.

Millennials are the first generation for whom it’s more common to obtain a bachelor’s degree than just a high school diploma.

Not only that, but Canadian millennials are paying off their student debt faster than Canadians under the age of 35 did 20 years ago—of those who take on debt, one in three pay it off entirely within three years.

And even though tuition cost has increased, the number of people graduating from undergraduate school without any debt has increased from 51% to 57% between 2000 to 2010.

Male Millennials Are Doing Better Financially Than Their Counterparts a Generation Ago.

Incomes for men under the age of thirty five took a big hit in the recessions of the early 80s and 90s. But since then, incomes for this age group have risen. Male millennials are doing better than their counterparts a generation ago, and have incomes that are even beginning to approach an all-time high.

Female Millennials Are Doing Financially Better Than Their Counterparts

On average, young women have higher incomes today than at any time in the past. Which might say a lot more about income inequality (though there's lots of room to improve) than it does about unparalleled financial opportunity. But we’ll take it.

Across both males and females, the average net worth of this age group has increased from $23,300 in 1999 to $25,300 in 2012.

And They’re Being Smart With That Wealth.

Today, on average, people under 35 have significantly more total assets, available cash, and nonpension financial assets than the previous generation. And they’ve invested twice as much in RRSPs as the same age group did two decades ago.

They’ve also been good at smart saving. Millennials have contributed an average of $7,600 to tax-free savings accounts. In fact, millennials now have yearly investment incomes averaging near $3,000.

They’re Also Buying Homes.

From 1999 to 2012, the number of Canadians under age 35 who purchased homes increased from 32% to 34%. This despite the fact that homes have only gotten significantly more expensive in every part of Canada.

So if you’re a millennial, next time someone criticizes you for being “entitled,” maybe you should think to yourself, Yep, I am entitled, considering how hard I’ve been working and how wise I’ve been with my money.

Recommended for you

  • How 2023 Cracked Wall Street’s Crystal Ball

    Money & the World

  • Data: Who Really Traded GME? Why? And What Happened to Them?

    Money & the World

  • How to Buy Fleeting Moments in Sports History

    Money & the World

  • Wealth isn't just the money you earn at work — it points to the financial history of a family and a people. And our history is fraught.

    The Racial Wealth Gap Is a Problem

    Money & the World

Just don’t say it out loud.


Sources

Wealthsimple uses technology and smart, friendly humans to help you grow and manage your money. Invest, save, trade, and even do your taxes in a better, simpler way.

Money + the World

"BURNOUT HAS BECOME OUR BASE TEMPERATURE. WE’RE THE BURNOUT GENERATION."

Anne Helen Petersen explains how things are different for the generation the world seems to love to hate.

TLDR Newsletter

Business news made simple

Sign up for our weekly non-boring newsletter about money, markets, and more.

By providing your email, you are consenting to receive communications from Wealthsimple Media Inc. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info, or contact us at privacy@wealthsimple.com or 80 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

  • Money & the World

    The Code That Controls Your Money

    COBOL is a coding language older than Weird Al Yankovic. The people who know how to use it are often just as old. It underpins the entire financial system. And it can’t be removed. How a computer language controls the financial life of the world.

  • Money & the World

    The Long-Term Economic Disaster of Cash Bail

    We spoke to Robin Steinberg of The Bail Project and Colin Doyle from the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School about how the cash bail system fuels and funds mass incarceration — and how it wreaks havoc on society.

  • Wealthsimple

    Grow your money

    Smart investing tools and personalized advice designed to build long term wealth.

  • Money & the World

    We Asked Our Resident Stock Market Genius About the Animal Crossing Economy

    Is the economy built by the creators of Animal Crossing functional? Can you learn anything about the actual economy from it? Will a boar come and deliver turnips to us in real life anytime soon? We turned to Ben Reeves, CIO of Wealthsimple, to help us understand the world (both virtual and real).

  • Money & the World

    What the Hell is Actually Going on in the Economy Right Now?

    A conversation with Wealthsimple’s Chief Investment Officer and resident economic genius about what’s happening in the market, how crazy things could get, and what you can do about it. (Hint: help everyone stay healthy.)

Wealthsimple

Grow your money

Smart investing tools and personalized advice designed to build long term wealth.

Get startedright arrow icon